Come Closer, Tatita

PreS-K–This short and sweet story is an homage to grandmothers (“Tata, Tatita, and Tata”) and a very simple exploration of grief. Although death is not explicitly mentioned, the young girl’s grandmother is said to be “very far away”—too far to see, touch, kiss, hear, or smell. Imapla (Lola Loves Animals) uses simple art and few colors on a white background, with illustrations that mainly include the young narrator and her grandmother in various tender situations; the text is broken up into brief one-line sentences per spread. The final spread will leave children with hope about a hard topic: “Now I know that I carry you with me everywhere,” the girl says with a contented expression and her hand over her heart. Small children will surely need an explanation from a caregiver, but the book is tailor-made for this difficult conversation.